The King and I

Thailand, previously known as Siam, is full of history.  Probably the most familiar to westerners like me is that Thailand, particularly Bangkok, is the setting of the musical The King and I and the movies Anna and the King and Anna and the King of Siam.  I've always been fond of these portrayals of Thai history (although most Thais will say it is not completely accurate), so visiting these sites was a must!

To begin, I got on a boat and traveled up the river to the port right outside of the palace complex.

 

Out of the boat, I could see the spires of the palace. If I am remembering my storyline correctly, the British sail up this river while the King and Anna are out in the courtyard and Anna sailed up the river to arrive in the King's Palace.

After walking a little ways, I came upon the palace complex.  The whole area is named The Grand Palace, but more than half of it are temples dedicated to Buddha.  The way the layout of the complex was, they filtered people through the temples first.  The temples and architecture were interesting to look at and full of gold, precious stones, and marble....

The Phra Siratana Chedi

There were beautiful murals along the walls with gold leafing that explained some of Thai history.

The outside of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha--one of the most famous Buddhas in the world

Ladies giving worship to the Buddha

And then, I rounded the corner and beheld the thing I had been most excited about seeing--The Grand Palace.  Rogers and Hammerstein music was running through my head as I walked some of the places I'm sure Anna, the teacher from Britain who came to teach the king's children English, walked.

The Palace was built in 1782 by King Rama 1.  Although much of Anna's story has been fictionalized (such as the love story--turns out the king was twice her age), Anna was a real person who really did come to Siam in the late 1800s.  She kept a diary and the book, then movie, and then musical are loosely based off her experiences.

"Shall we dance?
On a bright cloud of music shall we fly?
Shall we dance?
Shall we then say "Goodnight and mean "Goodbye"?
Or perchance,
When the last little star has left the sky,
Shall we still be together
With are arms around each other
And shall you be my new romance?
On the clear understanding
That this kind of thing can happen,
Shall we dance?
Shall we dance?
Shall we Dance?"

From across a large park, the Grand Palace can be seen in a distance

I never really ever imagined that I would see The Grand Palace in person.  What a treat!  I guess having my passport stolen was good for that!